Valerian Kwigizile, Ph.D., P.E.
Assistant Professor

Department of Civil and Construction Engineering
4601 Campus Drive, Room G-249
Kalamazoo, MI 49008
Tel: 269-276-3218 . Fax: 269-276-3211
Email: valerian.kwigizile@wmich.edu

 

EDUCATION

Ph. D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
M. S. in Civil Engineering, Florida State University, Florida, USA
B. S. in Civil Engineering, University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

RESEARCH INTERESTS

  • Transportation modeling and planning,
  • Motorized traffic safety, simulation and operations
  • Non-motorized traffic safety and operation
  • Application of intelligent transportation systems
  • Air quality analysis
  • GIS application in transportation engineering
  • Transit safety and operations

APPOINTMENTS

  • Assistant Professor: Western Michigan University (WMU), August 2011-Present
  • Assistant Professor: West Virginia University Institute of Technology, August 2008-July 2011
  • Post-Doctoral Researcher: University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Jan 2008-July 2008
  • Research/Teaching Assistant: University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Jan 2005-December 2007
  • Research Assistant: Florida State University, Jan 2003-Dec 2004
  • Project Engineer: MILO Construction Company LTD, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, June 2001-Dec 2002

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION AND LICENSING

  • Registered Professional Engineer (P.E.) #18947, West Virginia
  • Member, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)
  • Member, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
  • Member, The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi

TEACHING

  • CCE 2360: Geomatics
  • CCE 3300: Transportation Engineering
  • CCE 4300: Traffic Design
  • CCE 5400: Transportation Planning
  • CCE 5520: Highway Design Principles
  • CCE 6110: Traffic Operations and Management
  • CCE 6530: Traffic Models & Simulation
  • CCE 6540: Traffic Safety Engineering
  • CCE 6550: Travel Demand Analysis
  • CCE 6560: Transportation Infrastructure Management
  • CCE 6570: Transportation Economics
  • CCE 6580: Public Transportation

GRANTS

  • Evaluation of Michigan’s Engineering Improvements for Older Drivers, Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), $295,581.91, October 2013 – September 2015, PI (with Dr. Oh, Dr. Van Houten, Co-PIs).

  • Development of Overtime Traffic Enforcement Performance Standards for Michigan - Part III (Implementation), Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP), $25,399, May 2013- September 2013, PI (with Dr. Oh, Co-PI).

  • Evaluating Michigan Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Strategies and Facilities, Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), $268,560.45, April 2013 – March 2015, PI (with Dr. Oh, Co-PI).

  • Costs and Benefits of MDOT Intelligent Transportation System Deployments, Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), $233,665, April 2013 – March 2015, Co-PI (with Dr. Oh-PI).

  • Development of Overtime Traffic Enforcement Performance Standards for Michigan - Part II, Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP), $44,847, October 2012 - April 2013, PI (with Dr. Oh, Co-PI).

  • Development of Performance Measures for Non-Motorized Dynamics, Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), $201,850.66, October 2012-September 2013, Co-PI (with Dr. Oh-PI, Dr. Van Houten, and Dr. McKean).

  • Faculty Research and Creative Activities Award (FRACAA), Western Michigan University (WMU), $9,483, July 2012-June 2013.

  • Research Development Award (RDA), Western Michigan University (WMU), $2,468, July 2012-December 2013.

  • Development of Overtime Traffic Enforcement Performance Standards for Michigan, Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP), $60,000, March 2012-September 2012, PI (with Dr. Oh, Co-PI).

  • West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVUTech) Nick J. Rahall, II Appalachian Transportation Institute (ATI) Grant, $54,942, July 2010-June 2011, Co-PI (with Dr. Leftwich-PI, Dr. Hill, and Dr. Lee).

  • West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVUTech) Nick J. Rahall, II Appalachian Transportation Institute (ATI) Grant, $55,378, July 2009-June 2010, Co-PI(with Dr. Leftwich-PI, Dr. Hill, and Dr. Lee).

 

PUBLICATIONS IN PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS

14. Xu, X., Kwigizile, V., and Teng, H. Identifying Access Management Factors Associated With Safety of Urban Arterials Mid-Blocks: A Panel Data Simultaneous Equation Models Approach. The Journal of Traffic Injury Prevention. In Press

13. Kwigizile, V., Sando, T. and Chimba, D (2011). Inconsistencies of Ordered and Unordered Probability Models for Pedestrian Injury Severity. Transportation Research Record, the TRB Journal. Volume 2264, pp. 110-118.

12. Sando, T., Chimba, D., Kwigizile, V., and Walker, H. (2011). Safety Analysis of Continuous Green Through-Lane Intersections. Journal of Transportation Research Forum.Vol. 50, No. 1, pp. 5-17.

11. Kwigizile, V., Chimba, D. and Sando, T (2011). A Cross-Nested Logit Model for Trip Type-Mode Choice: An Application. Advances in Transportation Studies-An International Journal, Volume 23, Section A , pp. 29-40.

10. Teng, H., Kwigizile, V., Xie, G., Kaseko, M. and Gibby, A. R. (2010). “The Impacts of Emergency Vehicle Signal Preemption on Urban Traffic Speed”. The Journal of the Transportation Research Forum, Volume 49, Number 1, Spring 2010, pp. 69-79.

9.  Chimba, D., Sando, T. and Kwigizile, V (2010). Effect of Bus Size and Operation to Crash Occurrences. Journal of Accident Analysis and Prevention, Volume 42 , pp. 2063–2067.

8.  Kwigizile, V. and Teng, H. (2009). Comparison of Methods for Defining Geographical Connectivity for Variables of Trip Generation Models, ASCE Journal of Transportation Engineering. Volume 135, No. 7, pp. 454-466.

7.  Yao, J., Rakha, H., Teng, H., Kwigizile, V., and Kaseko, M. (2009). Estimating Highway Capacity considering Two-Regime Models, ASCE Journal of Transportation Engineering. Volume 135, No. 9, pp. 670-676.

6.  Teng, H., Xu, X., Li, X., Kwigizile, V., and Gibby, R. (2009). Evaluation of Speed Monitoring Displays for Work Zones in Las Vegas, Nevada. Transportation Research Record, Volume 2107, pp. 46-56.

5.  Teng, H., Kwigizile, V., Karakouzian, M., James, D. E., and Etyemezian, V. (2008): Investigation of the AP-42 Sampling Method. Journal of Air & Waste Management Association. Vol. 58:1422–1433.

4.  Teng, H., Kwigizile, V., James, D. E., and Merle, R. (2006) Identifying Influencing Factors On Paved Roads Silt Loading, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, Vol. 57, No. 7, pp.778-784.

3.  Kwigizile, V., Mussa, R., and Selekwa, M. (2005) Connectionist Approach to Improving Highway Vehicle Classification Schemes – The Florida Case. Transportation Research Record, Volume 1917, pp. 182-189.

2.  Mussa, R., Kwigizile, V., and Selekwa, M.F. (2006) Probabilistic Neural Networks Application for Vehicle Classification. ASCE Journal of Transportation Engineering, Volume 132, Number 4, pp. 293-302.

1. Selekwa, M.F., Kwigizile, V., and Mussa, R. (2005) Setting Up a Probabilistic Neural Network for Classification of Highway Vehicles. International Journal of Computation Intelligence and Applications, Volume 5, Number 4, pp. 411-423.

 

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

16. Chimba, D., Kutela, B., Kwigizile, V., and Sando, T. (2013). Paralleling the Influence of Unscheduled and Scheduled Roadwork Characteristics to Traffic Incident Durations. Accepted for Presentation at the 92nd Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), January 2013, Washington, D.C.

15. Tang, P., Kanaan, O., Wang, J., Oh, J., and Kwigizile, V. (2013). Statistical Identification of Items Important for Evaluating Bridge Conditions. Accepted for Presentation at the 92nd Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), January 2013, Washington, D.C.

14. Sando, T., Angel, M., Hunter, W., Chimba, D., and Kwigizile, V. (2013). Operational  Analysis of Shared Lane Markings “Sharrows” on Roadways With Narrow Lane Widths. Accepted for Presentation at the 92nd Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), January 2013, Washington, D.C.

13. Kwigizile, V., Sando, T. and Chimba, D. (2012). Modeling Bicyclist Injury Severity: A Focus on the Impact of Alcohol and Drug Use. Presented at the 91st Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), Washington, D.C.

12. Xu, X., Kwigizile, V., and Teng, H. (2012). Evaluating the Safety Impact of Access Management Techniques in Urban Areas. Presented at the 91st Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), Washington, D.C.

11. Kwigizile, V., Sando, T. and Chimba, D (2011). Inconsistencies of Ordered and Unordered Probability Models for Pedestrian Injury Severity. Presented at the 90th TRB Annual Meeting, January 2011, Washington, D.C.

10. Sando, T., Chimba, D. Kwigizile, V., and Moses, R. (2011). Operational Analysis of Interaction between Vehicles and Bicyclists on Highways with Wide Curb Lanes. Presented at the 90th TRB Annual Meeting, January 2011, Washington, D.C.

9.  Sando, T., Chimba, D., Kwigizile, V., and Walker, H. (2010) Safety Characteristics of Unconventional Continuous Green Through Lane Intersections. Presented at the Transportation Research Board (TRB) 89th Annual Meeting, January 2010, Washington, D.C.

8.  Chimba, D., Sando, T., Kwigizile, V., and Moses, R. (2010) Synchronizing Roadway and Traffic Operations Influencing Bus Crashes. Presented at the Transportation Research Board (TRB) 89th Annual Meeting, January 2010, Washington, D.C.

7.  Kwigizile, V., and Teng, H. (2009). Impact of Land Use and Location on Work Trips: Las Vegas Case. Presented at 56th Annual North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI) Conference, San Francisco, CA.

6.  Teng, H., Li, X., Kwigizile, V., and Gibby, R.(2009) Evaluation of Speed Monitoring Display for Work Zones in Las Vegas, presented at the 88th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington D.C.

5.  Teng, H., Kaseko, M., Xie, G., and Kwigizile, V. (2008) Evaluation of the Impacts of Emergency Vehicle on Signal Preemption, presented at the 87th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington D.C.

4.  Kwigizile, V. and Teng, H. (2008) Evaluation of Alternative Methods for Quantifying Spatial Effects in Trip Generation Models, presented at the 87th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington D.C.

3.  Kwigizile, V., Selekwa, M., and Mussa, R., (2004). Highway Vehicle Classification by Probabilistic Neural Networks”, presented at the Florida Artificial Intelligence Researchers Society Conference (FLAIRS), Miami, FL.

2.  Kwigizile, V., Selekwa, M., and Mussa, R., (2004). Categorization of Highway Traffic in Florida by Using Connectionist Approach; presented at Artificial Neural Network In Engineering Conference (ANNIE), St. Louis, MO.

1.  Kwigizile, V. and H. Teng. (2007). The Effects of Spatial Variables in Destination Choice Models—Las Vegas Case, presented at the 2007 Fall Transportation Conference, Las Vegas, NV.